The feat: Starting Sept. 1, West will attempt to climb 14 of Colorado’s fourteeners in 14 days.

The story: During a vacation in Wyoming in 2011, West lost a close family friend, Laurel Constantinides, and her three daughters, who were killed during a flash-flood accident.

“During the two-year process of adopting our daughter, Laurel became much more than a social worker, she became a close friend who was responsible for bringing our family together,” said West. “She touched countless other lives as well. After that tragedy, I knew I had to try and do something to fill just a tiny bit of the huge hole that loss of Laurel left in this world.”

West will start his project with Grays and Torreys peaks, with a goal of raising $14,000, which could help three to five foster families that he says could in turn help about 20 special-needs children who currently have no families and little hope of adoption. He will trek nearly 85 miles and gain about 35,000 feet in elevation.

The nice thing about Dutch ovens is that their iron is of one weave, so to speak, with nothing but metal all around, over and above, whatever’s cooking in them. So hot coals on their noggins is a no-never-mind.

The annual hop harvest is just around the corner in Washington state’s Yakima Valley, the agricultural area where 75 percent of America’s hops are grown, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.